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Cullinan Heritage A Rare Diamond and A Rare Sale

a rare 507.55 carat diamond, of exclusive color and clarity found in South Africa

What would you do if you had $35.3 million just sitting around, waiting for a great opportunity to be presented to you? Would you spend it on a rare magnificent diamond?

Last September, a London-based Petra Diamonds Company unearthed at its Cullinan mine in South Africa a 507.55 carats rough diamond, dubbed the “Cullinan Heratige”. Today, they sold the diamond to a Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Company Ltd., at a tender in South Africa, for $35.3 million, the highest sale price on record ever achieved for a rough diamond.

Why such a high price? This price is a reflection of the incredible rarity of the diamond of that size, color, and clarity.

Now, a little bit of statistics: at 507.55 carats, the Cullinan Heritage is among the world’s 20 largest high-quality gems of rough unearthed in history and is one of many important diamonds to come out of the South African Cullinan mine, which was once owned by De Beers. Other extraordinary diamonds found at the mine include the “Cullinan,” which at 3,106 carats is the largest ever gem-quality rough diamond ever found, the “Golden Jubilee” at 755 carats rough and “The Centenary,” at 599 carats rough.This diamond is truly a rare find.